Photo provided by SeaWorld
Sea World Orlando is now the home to two rockhopper penguins. The penguins are born with a downy feathers that will eventually be shed in favor of the familiar crowns of adult rockhoppers.
Photo provided by SeaWorld
Photo provided by SeaWorld
Photo Credit: Matt Marriott/Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomed a new arrival on January 16, 2011: a baby Mexican beaded lizard.
According to a press release by Busch Gardens: “Beaded lizards have venom glands in their lower jaws that allow them to chew venom directly into their prey. There is no anti-venom to counteract a beaded lizard bite.”
You can see the new hatchling in action at Jambo Junction until it reaches maturity. Once an adult, the lizard will join the park’s four other beaded lizards in Curiosity Caverns.
Photo Credit: Matt Marriott/Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Prairie dogs are very social animals. In order to survive the predators of the plains, prairie dogs have a system of calls to alert members of the colony of danger.
Professor Con Slobodchikoff of Northern Arizona University has spent the last 30 years delving deep into the nuances of prairie dog communication. In his research, he performed a series of experiments recording the prairie dog sounds when certain predators entered the scene.
What he found was surprising. Prairie dogs use different frequencies and pitches to not only distinguish a hawk, a coyote, a dog, or a human, they also describe the predator specifically.
For example, prairie dogs distinguish a short human from a tall human. Or someone wearing a blue shirt from someone wearing a yellow shirt. Interestingly, they do not discern male versus female humans, however.
You can hear the different prairie dog calls in an interactive graphic at NPR.org.
To learn more about prairie dogs, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Black-tailed Prairie Dog.
Tiger cubs at the Bronx Zoo pounce and bounce through the snow during their first blizzard.
Polar bear and husky play (photo credit © courtesy of National Geographic Channel)
Last year, National Geographic Channel aired a program about unlikely animal friends. Premiering Friday, January 7, 2011 at 9pm EST is a second installment of bizarre animal pairs: Unlikely Animal Friends 2.
The one-hour special takes a look at friendships between a sheep and an elephant, a goat and two dogs, huskies and polar bears, a leopard and a golden retriever, and a lion, tiger and dog.
Watch a sneak peak here about an orphaned elephant calf befriending a sheep:
Watch Hoover, an inquisitive baby aardvark, at the Bronx Zoo exploring his environment.
In the wild, aardvarks are native to Africa. They have specialized features that help them hunt for their main diet: termites. They have thick claws useful for digging through termite mounds, long snouts that can suck up the termites, and a long sticky tongue that can slop them up.
For more information about Hoover and the aardvark exhibit, see the Bronx Zoo website.
In a partial settlement in an ongoing lawsuit of the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Greenpeace against the U.S. Department of the Interior, more than 187,000 square miles (120 million acres) were designated as “critical habitat” for the polar bear. This designation marks the areas crucial to polar bears’ survival. Federal agencies are prohibited to adversely modify the lands and coastal waters in these areas. This may deter future oil drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off Alaska, which are part of the critical habitat.
The lawsuit challenges the Department of the Interior’s 2008 decision to classify polar bears as a “threatened” species rather than the more protective “endangered” status and further disputes their special ruling that greenhouse gases could not be regulated as a result of the “threatened” status.
Greenhouse gases make up the primary threat to polar bears. An increase of carbon emissions leads to rising temperatures, which are causing the Arctic ice masses to melt away at a rapid rate. A reduction of large masses of ice limits polar bears’ access to seals, their main food source. Not only does this adversely affect the health of adult polar bears, it also hinders the successful reproduction and nourishment of new bear cubs. Rising temperatures also result in unstable maternity dens, as snowdrifts melt and collapse. If greenhouse gases are not curbed, the polar bear could become extinct in 40 years or less.
For more information about the court decision, see the Center for Biological Diversity’s press release.
To learn more about polar bears and what you can do to help them, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Polar Bear.
At Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, the animals from the Edge of Africa enjoyed special Jack-O’-Lanterns in the festive spirit of Halloween.
Inside each carved pumpkin was a unique treat depending on the animal’s diet. Lions and hyenas were tempted by meat. Ring-tailed lemurs sought grapes, while meerkats were after mealworms.
Hippos love fruit, but Kita enjoyed playing with the buoyant pumpkin for a few minutes before smashing it and eating it.
Watch the fun video below:
An oil impacted Brown pelican being cleaned at a Wildlife Rehabilitation center in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. (Photo Credit: USFWS/Greg Thompson)
National Geographic is once again at the forefront in documenting conservation efforts. This time their cameras turn to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
From National Geographic:
With oil actively gushing into the Gulf’s waters, National Geographic Explorer and wildlife expert Mireya Mayor, together with adventure underwater cameraman Andy Casagrande, join the extensive mission to save struggling creatures at the center of the crisis. Dive into the sludgy mess across the Gulf region with Mireya and Andy as they work to rescue pelicans, sea turtles, dolphins and many other creatures that use the Gulf as a migration superhighway. Along the way, they investigate the science behind the toxins and the anticipated impact they will have on coastal life for years to come. From the marshlands of Louisiana to the beaches and coral reefs of Florida — the beloved home state of both Mireya and Andy — watch their race to protect the injured creatures from an uncertain future, and follow their investigation after the oil spill was ultimately contained.
Tune into Nat Geo Wild on Tuesday, October 5 at 9pm ET/PT for Saved from the Spill.